Anna Patterson 1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph.
The stasis at the beginning of the play takes place on The Wasaychigan Hill Indian Reserve in the summer of 1986. The characters involved are Pelaja, Philomena, Marie-Adele, Annie, Emily, Veronique, and Zhaboonigan. They discuss the monotony of life on the reserve.
2. What is the intrusion?
The intrusion is when the women decide to go to the BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD in Toronto.
3. What is the unique factor?
The unique factor is that today is the day that the women learn of the biggest bingo in the world and decide to go.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
The dramatic question that must be revealed at the end of the play is "will each of the women get win the bingo game and get what they want?"
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
The two kinds of exposition in the play is what is originally revealed about the women and their life on the reserve, and later when the women choose to reveal different aspects about their pasts.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
The most theatrical moments are when the women are throwing insults at each other during the big fight scene, and at the end, when they all run and destroy the "bingo machine." The scene where the women argue shows the very messed up relationships the women have and reveals important details about each character. In the bingo scene, this is really the climax of the play where we see the women finally playing bingo after talking about it and working toward going to it for the entire play.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
The themes of the play include family relationships. Though not all of the women are related by blood, they are all the "Rez Sisters" who fight for each other and watch out for one another.
A more hidden theme is of justice vs. injustice. All the women face injustice of some kind at the hands of the men in their lives. Like Zhaboonigan and Philomena especially. The play demonstrates the injustice that these women face everyday.
8. What does the chief character want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants?
I think all the women are chief characters in the fool. They all experience some kind of personal growth and the play focuses on each of the women wanting something more. Some of them have more extreme dreams, for instance, some only a new oven or toilet while others want to be rich famous, and own their own island. The women put their faith in the bingo game to deliver them from the poverty they lived in. I interrupted this as fate being the women's biggest obstacles. Bingo is a game of chance, and since no one can choose where they are born, these women by chance lived on this reserve in poverty. By fate they were born into their situation, and by fate only can they leave.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
The most obvious image is the game of bingo. The bingo in Toronto offers a way out of the current life these women are living if they win the grand prize of 500,000 dollars. The women in the play put so much of their trust into the bingo game, looking for it to be their ticket out of the poverty they live in.
The title, The Rez Sisters, refers to Emily's past when she was taught how to find. This symbolizes how the women in the play who live on this reservation must be tough and "fight" to survive in their environment.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
The family relationships in this play are between the women. Though they are not all related by blood, the women band together and are each each other's family. When Marie-Adele is taken to the spirit world during the bingo game in Toronto, Veronique takes care of Marie-Adele's now orphaned children.
1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph.
The stasis at the beginning of the play takes place on The Wasaychigan Hill Indian Reserve in the summer of 1986. The characters involved are Pelaja, Philomena, Marie-Adele, Annie, Emily, Veronique, and Zhaboonigan. They discuss the monotony of life on the reserve.
2. What is the intrusion?
The intrusion is when the women decide to go to the BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD in Toronto.
3. What is the unique factor?
The unique factor is that today is the day that the women learn of the biggest bingo in the world and decide to go.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
The dramatic question that must be revealed at the end of the play is "will each of the women get win the bingo game and get what they want?"
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
The two kinds of exposition in the play is what is originally revealed about the women and their life on the reserve, and later when the women choose to reveal different aspects about their pasts.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
The most theatrical moments are when the women are throwing insults at each other during the big fight scene, and at the end, when they all run and destroy the "bingo machine." The scene where the women argue shows the very messed up relationships the women have and reveals important details about each character. In the bingo scene, this is really the climax of the play where we see the women finally playing bingo after talking about it and working toward going to it for the entire play.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
The themes of the play include family relationships. Though not all of the women are related by blood, they are all the "Rez Sisters" who fight for each other and watch out for one another.
A more hidden theme is of justice vs. injustice. All the women face injustice of some kind at the hands of the men in their lives. Like Zhaboonigan and Philomena especially. The play demonstrates the injustice that these women face everyday.
8. What does the chief character want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants?
I think all the women are chief characters in the fool. They all experience some kind of personal growth and the play focuses on each of the women wanting something more. Some of them have more extreme dreams, for instance, some only a new oven or toilet while others want to be rich famous, and own their own island. The women put their faith in the bingo game to deliver them from the poverty they lived in. I interrupted this as fate being the women's biggest obstacles. Bingo is a game of chance, and since no one can choose where they are born, these women by chance lived on this reserve in poverty. By fate they were born into their situation, and by fate only can they leave.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
The most obvious image is the game of bingo. The bingo in Toronto offers a way out of the current life these women are living if they win the grand prize of 500,000 dollars. The women in the play put so much of their trust into the bingo game, looking for it to be their ticket out of the poverty they live in.
The title, The Rez Sisters, refers to Emily's past when she was taught how to find. This symbolizes how the women in the play who live on this reservation must be tough and "fight" to survive in their environment.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
The family relationships in this play are between the women. Though they are not all related by blood, the women band together and are each each other's family. When Marie-Adele is taken to the spirit world during the bingo game in Toronto, Veronique takes care of Marie-Adele's now orphaned children.